Revenge of the Fallen
by WoollyOne
Summary: The Hunger Games have returned at number 77, and Clove is out for revenge. Her sister died while trying to kill Katniss in the 74th Hunger Games, and Clove wants Katniss to pay. Cassie Thorne is twelve years old, and volunteers to save her sister Loren. Clove wants Katniss to know that she can't hide, and to prove her point, decides to kill her tribute in the worst way possible.
1. Prologue

"Loren Thorne!"

"No! I volunteer! I volunteer as Tribute!"

I don't think as the words leave my mouth, nor do I understand their consequences once said. They won't see me again, but without Loren, will not have freedom.

They force me up to say my name, and shake the hand of my adversary. Then I leave to say goodbye, before I am taken to my death.

Disbelief and anger are what encounters me from my family. Understanding and compassion come from my friends.

I say my goodbyes and tears are shed, and then I am on my way. My mentors greet me, and feel my pain, and offer me what they can.

I am Cassie Thorne, the very youngest of my four. The only one who knows the utter cruelty of this world.

None can break me, although many have tried. My mind, my body, my soul; all of them impenetrable.

"I will break you."

"Try your hardest. I won't give in."


	2. Chapter 1

_I feel the whip digging into the flesh of my back, and being brought away for another strike. I begged him to stop, but to no avail. All this just for helping a little girl. She was lost and crying, and I knew she'd get into trouble if the Peacekeepers found her, so I took her home. While I was walking home after taking her back to her family, the Peacekeepers found me wandering the streets alone after curfew. It wasn't one of the old Peacekeepers, either. It was one of Romulus Thread's new men. They took me straight to Thread and he threw me in prison for the night and whipped me first thing in the morning. My sisters had no idea where I was, but they found me as soon as Thread's men had thrown me down on the street. They took me straight to the Everdeens, but Mrs. Everdeen was too busy tending to Gale Hawthorne, who was whipped a few days ago. He was a close family friend, and she wanted to make sure he healed properly, so she let Prim heal me. My sisters took me into a room off to the side and laid me face-down on a table covered with a white sheet, and left me with Prim. She was so gentle, and tried so hard not to hurt me, but she knew it was still hurting me. She gently rubbed the back of my hand and left the room for a minute to get some cloth, water and herbs. When she returned, she prepared a herbal brew for me to take. It was hot, and burned my mouth slightly, but she told me it would help the pain. She mixed what looked like salt into a small bucket of water and dipped a cloth into it and started gently washing the dried blood off my back. I cried out in pain, but she kept going. I looked at her, and she had a determined look in her eyes. Katniss came in and asked what all the noise was, but Prim ignored her, continuing to clean my back. When she finished, she gently rubbed a cold ointment into my back, and it stung a bit, and I cried out again, louder this time. She stopped, and knelt down in front of me, telling me it would be alright. She was only six years older than me, but already so much more mature than me. When she stood, Katniss was there, telling her to give me something for the pain. Prim refused, and continued rubbing the ointment into my mutilated flesh. When she finished that, she gently lifted me up into a sitting position, and asked Katniss to hold me there. While Katniss gently held my shoulders, Prim wrapped a bandage around my body. The lashes weren't in just one place; they were all the way down my back. Once Prim had fastened the bandage, she and Katniss laid me back down to rest._

I wake up screaming. I sit bolt upright and take shallow, shuddering breaths as I try to calm myself. Loren, Tilly and Isobel rush over to my bed and try to calm me, knowing how much this dream haunts me. It happened two years ago, and I've relived that day at least a hundred times since then, and I've never had a proper night's sleep, either. I constantly wake up shaking and in a cold sweat, sometimes with scratches on my arms where I've clawed at myself during the night. Loren, the oldest at 18, lifts me up and sits me on her lap, gently rubbing my back and whispering soothing words in my ear to calm me down. Tilly, the second oldest at 16, goes to the kitchen to make a warm cup of tea to relax me. Isobel, the youngest out of the three of them at 14, goes to warm up my favourite blanket to stop my shaking. I can tell it annoys them sometimes, but they continue to look after me, and they've tried different therapies to try and make it better, but none of them have worked. Once Isobel and Tilly come back, Loren takes Tilly aside to talk to her and leaves Isobel to look after me. She sits me on her lap like Loren did and rubs my back as I sit huddled in my blanket and sipping my tea. When my eldest sisters return, they sit down on the bed with us, and Loren starts talking.

"Cas, we have to do something about this," she says quietly. "I know you hate it, and we hate seeing you like this. I'm taking you to see the Everdeens in the morning. I need to see if they can do something about this."

I nod silently and continue to drink my tea, already becoming more still as I sit here. When I've finished my tea, Isobel and Tilly go back to bed, and Loren lies with me as I try to go back to sleep. She rubs my arm for about an hour before I drift off to the steady beat of her heart on my back.

When I wake, we all have a meagre breakfast before Loren and I go to visit the Everdeens. When we arrive, the house isn't filled with people waiting to be treated, so we see Mrs. Everdeen. I'm there for about a minute before I feel a gentle hand on my back. I turn quickly and see Prim standing behind me, smiling. I smile back and she gestures for me to follow her into the room off to the side. I shudder as I see the same table, but still sit down on it when she invites me to.

"I've been meaning to see you," she says quietly. "See how you are, but I don't know where you live."

"That's alright," I say. "Thanks for thinking of me, though."

"Do you mind if I take a look?" she asks tentatively.

"Of course, go ahead," I say.

She stands, but I remain seated. "Do you mind?" she asks, her fingers at the hem of my shirt.

"I honestly don't mind," I say. "Do whatever you need to do."

She carefully lifts up my shirt, and I feel her thin fingers probing at the skin of my back. I've looked at it in the mirror before, and it's white against my tanned skin. But when it gets cold, it turns an eerie purple.

"I think I did a pretty good job, considering how young you were and how bad it was," she finally says, handing me back my shirt which I gratefully put back on. "How old were you at the time?"

"Ten," I say. "What about you?"

"Thirteen," she replies. "I'd never looked after anybody on my own before that."

"You were always talented," a voice comes from the doorway. I look and see Prim's older sister Katniss standing there with a smile on her face. She strides across the room and extends a warm hand. "I'm Katniss. I don't think we actually talked the last time you were here."

"Cassie Thorne," I reply as I shake her hand.

"Aren't you Loren's youngest sister?" she asks.

"Yes, why?"

"I used to have a couple of classes with her. Prim, don't you have classes with the other two?"

"Tilly and Isobel," I confirm.

"Yes, we aren't really that close, though," Prim says. "Different groups of friends."

"Are they here now?" Katniss asks me.

"No, it's just Loren. Isobel and Tilly are at home."

"So what are you actually here for?" Prim asks.

"I keep having this nightmare," I explain. "I've had it for two years, and it keeps coming back. Loren's trying to find something to fix it."

"I hope you have more luck than me," Katniss says. "I have them every night. Different ones each time, but some come back."

"I'm sorry," I say.

"Don't be," she replies. "I don't want anybody else to be involved in it."

With that, she leaves the room, and I hear her chatting with Loren. Prim and I start talking about the recently reinstated Hunger Games.

"We tried so hard to stop this, but it's just come back. Their rebellion was bigger than we ever thought it would be," Prim says while shaking her head.

"You can still be chosen though, can't you?"

"Yes. And this time, if I get reaped, Katniss won't be there to volunteer for me."

"You'll be fine," I say. "There are plenty of people worse off than you. I'm only twelve and I already have my name in there five times. You're going to be fine."

"Cas, we've got to go," Loren says as she pokes her head round the door.

"Coming, Loren," I call back.

"I'll come visit this afternoon," Prim says. "I've been meaning to get to know Tilly and Isobel better."

"Cassie, come on!" Loren says impatiently.

"I'm coming," I say again, and say goodbye to Prim and follow Loren back home.

"Sleeping pills," she explains, handing me a small brown paper bag. I look at the cardboard box inside it and inspect the pills. They're small, dark green tablets, and it says to take them an hour before bed.

"Will they help?" I ask.

"They should make you sleep like a log, without any dreams."

"I hope."


	3. Chapter 2

"They're going to take a little bit of blood, OK Cas?" Loren says calmly.

"Will it hurt?"

"A little bit, yes. But you'll be fine. Now come and line up."

I follow her to the line and get my blood taken, and am taken to the twelve-year-old girls' section. We wait in silence until the mayor stands to address us. He gives us our list of past Victors, and Katniss and Peeta stand when their names are called. He then introduces Effie Trinket, the District 12 escort, and she gladly takes the stage.

"Welcome to the 77th Hunger Games! As always, ladies first!"

She strides over to the glass ball containing all the name slips. I have five in there, Isobel has fifteen, Tilly has twenty-five, and Loren has thirty-five. Each of us has taken tesserae for our family after our parents and brother died in a mining accident seven years ago. The grain rations we get are pretty much all we live on.

Our father and brother were both down in the mine when it blew up, and our mother went crazy when she found out and ran into the mine and suffocated. That left just my three sisters and I on our own. The authorities were going to make us live in the community home because we had nobody to care for us and provide us with money or food, but Loren stepped in. She went to the Justice Building and pleaded to them, begging them to let us stay. She said that we'd find a way to keep going, and they gave us a month to prove it. During that month, Loren turned twelve, and she applied for tesserae. We had just enough grain, and she, Isobel and Tilly all got after-school jobs, but wouldn't let me. Unbeknownst to them, I had got myself a job, working for a select few high-profile merchant families. I was the equivalent of a servant to them, cleaning their houses, collecting their groceries, and delivering messages for them. I was only five years old at the time. When we went to the Justice Building after the accident, Loren, Tilly and Isobel all received medals of valour for the rest of our family. Because I was the youngest, I didn't. My sisters wouldn't let me do anything because I was so young, but I was always a bit of a rebel. All the money they earned would be put into a small wooden bowl, so I could just sneak mine into it without them noticing. After a few years, I stopped working for the families and started hunting and gathering. I'd sneak a bit of food into our cupboards, and sell the rest at the Hob, sneaking the money into the bowl. I'd hunt fish with a long, sharp stick, and get what I could with knives. I taught myself how to throw them, and got pretty good at it. I gathered fruits and vegetables, as well as some healing herbs. Occasionally I would treat myself to something new with the money I earned, and I bought myself a leather messenger bag to carry my knives, food and money in. I still do it now, and my sisters still have no idea.

I refocus on Effie, as she's pulling out a single slip of paper and returning to the microphone.

"The District 12 female Tribute for the 77th Hunger Games is… Loren Thorne!"

I stand perfectly still, in complete shock. Loren has finished school; she has a full-time job, and is the provider for our family. She's our legal guardian, and the mayor told us that as long as we had her with us, we could stay. Without her, we have to live in the community home. Without thinking, I do the first thing that comes to mind.

"No! I volunteer! I volunteer as Tribute!"

Loren, who's already halfway to the stage, turns in disbelief and stares at me.

"Cassie, no!" she yells. "You're twelve years old!"

I run to meet her. "And without you, we have nothing. Without you, we're done."

"You're twelve; you won't come out of there."

"And without you, they'll evict us. You're our provider, and if you're gone, we go to the community home. This is the only way. You have to trust me."

I feel Peacekeepers grabbing my arms and dragging me towards the stage, and Loren tries to hold me back, but I shrug out of the Peacekeepers' grip and hug Loren one more time and walk up to the stage myself. I walk up the stairs slowly, and Effie guides me to the microphone.

"What's your name, dear?" she says in her strong Capitol accent.

"Cassie Thorne," I say in a quiet voice that I'm unsuccessfully trying to keep steady.

"I'd bet anything that that was your sister, wasn't it?"

I just nod, not trusting my voice anymore. Effie draws a name from the boys' bowl, and it's an eighteen-year-old merchant boy called Max. Sure, he's from a merchant family, but they don't do too well. He's quite tall and lanky, but is very clever and logical. We shake hands, and then follow Effie, the mayor, and our mentors off the stage and into the Justice Building. Max and I go into our separate rooms and wait for our family and friends to visit us. I don't really have many friends, and none of them are particularly close, so I'm only expecting my family. I hear the door open and spin around to see Loren, Tilly and Isobel standing in the doorway. Loren comes over to me first, and she looks sad, but angry as well.

"Why, Cassie, why?"

"Because we'd get chucked into the community home without you; you're our legal guardian, so without you, we can't stay where we are."

"You do know you're going to die in there, don't you?" Isobel says.

"Yes, Izzy, I do know that I'll probably die in there. I'll try my hardest to come back, but, in the end, they're better, and they are going to win."

"How are you going to sleep?" Tilly asks. "You can't take your medication into the arena. You can't take it to the Capitol, either."

"I guess I'm just going to have to go back to how I was before."

"We're sure going to miss you," Loren says.

"Nothing's going to be the same," Tilly says.

"I just hope it's quick," Isobel says.

The door opens again, this time revealing a Peacekeeper. "Your time's up."

I hug my sisters, and then they leave.

"I love you," I call.

The door opens again, this time revealing Prim.

"I don't have much time," she says. "I want you to have this." She gently turns me around and fastens something behind my neck. I look at it, and see that it's a leather choker. "As a District token."

"Thankyou," I say.

"You're time's up," the Peacekeeper repeats as he opens the door again.

"I'll make sure they have enough food and money. Just try, please. You never know what could happen in there."

We hug each other quickly, and she leaves the room. I call out to her as she leaves.

"Thankyou so much."

I'm escorted out of the room and to the station where I board a train with Max and Effie. Max and I sit in stunned silence as we gaze around the carriage, neither of us really listening to Effie's nonsensical rambling. We look around as the door opens and Katniss and Peeta walk in, standing immediately. They walk over to us and introduce themselves to us.

"Hey there Cassie," Katniss says. "I'm so sorry about this."

"Don't worry about it, they need Loren at home."

She gives me a quick hug, and then Peeta comes over.

"Hi, I'm Peeta Mellark," he says, holding out a hand, which I take.

"Cassie Thorne," I say, rather pointlessly; he learnt my name at the reaping.

"Do you want to split up so we can discuss your skills?" Katniss suggests. "Cassie, you come with me, and Max, you stay here with Peeta."

I follow Katniss out of the room and into another carriage, which I presume is the lounge carriage, and it makes sense that the room we were just in is the dining carriage. Katniss and I sit down on one of the couches, and she turns to me seriously.

"Cassie, if you want to see your sisters again, then you're going to have to completely trust me, got it?"

I nod, wanting to listen to everything that she has to say.

"Do you have any skills or talents?"

"I'm alright at knife throwing, and I know a little bit about edible plants and hunting, plus I'm pretty good in trees."

"Any that are really good, that you're completely confident with?"

"Not really, they're all just kind of, half-decent."

"Well, it's better than nothing. While you're in training, you need to work on your fitness, get that up to speed. You also need to work in improving all your existing skills, as well as gaining some new ones. I'll be here to help you right up until the night before you go in. I'm here to help you, and I need you to trust me. I'll gain you sponsors, and I'll send you what you need. You're going to be fine."

I stay silent and look at the ground, and I start to shake, and a single teardrop rolls gently down my face.

"You're going to be fine, Cas," Katniss says. "I want you to go home. In fact, I never wanted somebody I know going in there."

"They're better," I yell. "They're going to kill me, and there's nothing you can do to stop this."

"I'm going to do everything in my power to send you back home. I promise you, you'll be ready."

"Ready won't be enough, they're bigger, they're older, they're stronger, they're smarter. I can't compete with that."

"You're just looking at their strengths," she says. "They have weaknesses that far outweigh their strengths."

"Like what?"

"They're arrogant. You're from District 12, so they'll automatically count you out. If you can hide yourself well enough, then they'll leave you until the last few. It'll at least buy you some time. They don't know what's it's like to go without food, either. You do. You're from a Seam family, so you've never had enough food. They've been well-fed their entire life, so they'll struggle if you can take out their food."

"When we didn't have enough food or money, I refused to eat," I admit. "I'd give it to the others, and at one point, I did that for about three weeks."

"See, you can go without food, you can hunt, and you can hide. But can you swim?"

"I can float, but I can't swim."

"Well, that's better than nothing. If there's water in there, you need to swim, and they don't teach you during training."

"What do they teach us, in training?"

"Well, everyone can go their separate ways and do whatever they like, and there are different stations that teach different skills. Some teach you survival techniques, some work on your fitness, and some show you how to fight with different weapons as well as hand-to-hand combat."

"Within those, what do they specifically teach?"

"Well, when I was there, they had knot tying and snares, camouflage, climbing, edible plants, weight-lifting, running, spears, swords, knives, and they're just the ones that I can remember."

"So what do you think I should focus on?"

"You have three days of training. On the first, get your fitness up. Things like running, climbing and weight-lifting. On the second day, work on survival skills; knot tying and snares, edible plants, shelters, things like that. On the last day, go to the weapons. Get your knife skills as good as you can, do a bit of hand-to-hand, and try to get some new skills. Try and put on a bit of weight before you go in, too; you'll starve slower and have more strength."

"Is there anything else I should know?"

"Tomorrow morning, after breakfast, we reach the Capitol. You'll be taken straight to the stylists. You're going to hate what they do to you, but you're going to have to put up with it. Don't say a word against them, and trust your stylist. They'll make you look good, and that's what you need to make a good first impression on the Capitol."

And that's the one thing that could save me now.


	4. Chapter 3

I go to my room and get changed out of my uncomfortable 'good clothes', and into something more comfortable in the cupboard in my room. I find a simple dark purple t-shirt and some three-quarter length black leggings, along with a pair of pale grey slip-on canvas shoes, and I put on the choker that Prim gave me. The clothes feel comfortable, and Katniss is calling me to dinner. I go out to the others and sit down at the lavish wooden table and eat as much as I can. There's so much food, and it tastes amazing, and I feel a bit sick, but it does feel good to finally have a full stomach, something I've never had before. After dinner, we go to the lounge room that Katniss and I sat in before, and watch the replays of all the reapings. We sit through District 1, who, according to Katniss and Peeta, don't look as good as they normally do, but are still as beautiful and arrogant as usual. When the girl from District 2 steps up onto the stage after volunteering, Katniss' face drains of colour. We keep watching until the end, and I watch Loren being called, and my pained voice crying out in the silence. I watch as Max is called, and he steps up in silence. He doesn't look like much, and he's more philosophical than physical, so I think the Careers are going to go for him first, unless they think I'm worth killing at the start. They could just forget about me, the skinny little twelve-year-old, and save me for later; to hunt out when they get bored.

"Clove," Katniss whispers.

"Katniss, you don't know it's her," Peeta says calmly. "There could be any number of girls-"

"Peeta, it's her. I'd recognise her anywhere."

"Kat, you don't think there's something she wants, do you?" Peeta says after a moment of silence.

"What are you guys talking about?" Max yells. I don't know him that well, but I know that Loren does, and she's told us that when he's scared, he gets angry to try and hide it.

"The girl from 2," Katniss says. "Three years ago, a girl called Maria, a Career from District 2, nearly killed me at the Feast. Thresh killed her after hearing her talking about Rue. I remember that she was reaped, and nobody volunteered for her, even though she was seventeen and from a Career District, but she was incredibly skilled. The girl from 2 this year looks just like her. I think it might be her sister, because I saw her on the Victory Tour. She was glaring at me the entire time, and Peeta thinks she might be out for revenge. We think that she might think that I'm responsible for her sister's death, and that I lured her out as part of a trap, and she wants me to pay for it."

"How can she get revenge?" I ask. "She can't touch you."

"But she can touch you," she says seriously. "I have a feeling that, if you're careful enough, you might get left alone at the bloodbath. If you're going to die, she's going to want to kill you herself, and it won't be pretty. I'm so sorry about this, and I don't want to worry you, but I think that's how this is going to play out. If she's anything like her sister, she doesn't miss."

We sit in silence for a few minutes before Effie sends us off to bed, and I change into a pair of shorts and a large t-shirt and slide under the covers. They feel so soft against my skin, and I fall asleep quickly, but only to wake up screaming again. Max walks through the door in less than a minute and sits on the edge of my bed, resting one hand on my leg.

"You're going to be fine," he says in his deep voice.

"How can you say that? You're older than me, you're better than me, I'm just the little kid that going to be the first to die."

"You're smart. You can tell how people think. Try to figure out how the others think; maybe you can find out something that'll help you beat them."

"You mean, spy on them?"

"Not so much spying, just observing them closely," he says with a mischievous grin. "What was all that screaming about?"

"I have really bad nightmares," I explain sheepishly. "I normally take a tablet for it before bed, but I'm not allowed to take them to the Capitol, so I'm just going to have to deal with it."

"That's going to be a bit of a disadvantage in the arena," he says. "If you wake up screaming again, they'll hear you and hunt you down." I know by 'they', he means the Careers. "If it happens in there, as soon as you wake up, run. Run as fast as you can away from where you were, and hide."

"Well that's as good a plan as any," I say sadly. "You should go and get some sleep. Don't let me bother you."

"If you're sure you'll be alright," he says, getting up and slowly walking out.

I don't sleep for the rest of the night, and when Katniss comes in to wake me, I'm gently rocking back and forth in a corner with tears streaming silently down my face. She sits with me and hugs me until I calm down, and then I manage to speak to Katniss.

"I'm scared," I whisper.

"I know, but you just have to trust that I'll get you through this."

"I'm going to screw up," I say sadly.

"No you're not," she says.

"I will. I'm scared, and I'm just going to forget everything and die," I nearly yell.

"If you're so scared, then use it to win over the Capitol," she says. "Say you're absolutely terrified, and someone might take pity on you and sponsor you. Take your fear and make yourself look adorable. Say you're terrified and that you wish you were just safe at home. The crowd will love you, just take that fear and turn it into something useful. Something the Careers can't beat."

"Like what? What do I have that can beat the Careers?"

"You'll find out in time, Cas."

She leaves the room then, and I change into what I wore yesterday, and go out to breakfast. Again, I eat as much as I can, and I feel warmth from the food throughout my entire body. Less than an hour after breakfast, we can see the Capitol through the windows of the train, and we arrive soon after. We can see all the trains lined up, and we're the last to arrive, and also, clearly, the least impressive. We're taken straight to our prep teams, and Katniss was right: I'm not going to like what they do to me. They scour my skin with kind of gritty foam, filed my nails so they're all uniform, and now they're focusing on removing all the hair from my body. Katniss told me that this is the worst part, but I can't protest, otherwise they'll resent me. I follow their instruction and lie down on the table and grit my teeth as they rip all the hair off my body. After about two hours, they deem me suitable for my stylist, and leave me alone in just a thin robe that they've let me wear on and off while they've been getting me ready. After a few minutes, a man who must be Cinna, as they've already told me his name, enters the room. He looks surprisingly normal, as most of the stylists I've seen before are grotesquely altered. His close cropped hair is plain black, probably the natural colour, and the only alteration seems to be gold eyeliner, which enhances his eyes nicely. He walks over slowly and shakes my hand gently, and takes a step back.

"My name is Cinna," he says in a silky voice. "Would you mind removing your robe?"

"Not at all," I say, removing the thin robe and laying it over the table.

Cinna walks around me and carefully scrutinizes me, but never touches me. After a few minutes, he invites me to put my robe back on and sit down with him at a small table. He pushes a small button in the wall and the table opens up and food appears. I fill my plate and eat quietly, and Cinna watches me as I eat.

"You're quite small, aren't you?" he says.

"In what way?" I ask quizzically.

"You're both small in stature, and in weight."

"I know," I say quietly.

"What happened to your back? It's quite scarred."

"I was whipped for being out after curfew. I found this lost little girl and took her home, but I couldn't get back fast enough and the Peacekeepers found me."

"Don't worry," he says. "I'll make you look every bit a star."

"I don't see how you could make me look as good as the Careers," I say sadly.

"Trust me, they might be bigger and older, but you're the adorable girl from 12 that volunteered to keep your family safe. The crowd will love you, and with me on your side, you'll look good as well, which always wins over the crowd."

"Katniss did tell me you were amazing," I say with a small smile.

"Then if you don't trust me, at least trust her."

"I trust you."

"Well then, let's discuss your outfit for the Tribute Parade. We need something that will make you stand out from everyone else, and give you an edge. Obviously we can't do anything that Katniss and Peeta have had before, but it needs to be just as good. Continuing with the theme of coal and fire, I'm thinking of something to do with the mining itself."

"What were you thinking?"

"Maybe a sort of miners' suit, that has something to do with lights and smoke."

"I don't doubt that you can pull it off," I say in admiration.

"Thankyou," he says kindly.

In another few hours, I'm dressed in a fairly basic outfit, though Cinna says he has a trick up his sleeve to make it sensational. It looks like a miner's jumpsuit with shiny black boots, but it has tight-fitting pants and a baggy tank-top, and apparently it will light up and puff out smoke. The prep team come back in and apply make-up and fix my hair, and Cinna does some last minute touches for the lights and smoke, and then we go out to the others, who are lining up for the Parade. I find Max and go over to him, and he rests a hand on my shoulder gently.

"We look so stupid right now," he says, shaking his head.

"Well it's not like we can do anything about it," I say. "We just have to trust our stylists."

"But seriously, it's not like this is going to stop us dying. We're both going to die in there."

"What if we don't? Something might happen and we might win. You're a miner; you're strong enough to win."

"And you're a hunter; you're small and quiet, and you can use a weapon and go without food."

"Come on you two," Peeta says as he walks over to us. "You need to get up there and win over the crowd."

"Well we can't just magically fall in love, now, can we?" I say cheekily.

We walk over to the chariot and step up into it, and Cinna turns on our lights and smoke through a small switch on our backs, and we gasp in amazement, as the smoke doesn't linger, but forms a trail behind us, even though we haven't moved, and the golden light shining through it shimmers magnificently. As the other Tributes are rolling through the doors before us, Cinna calls out to us one last time, but I don't hear him. Apparently Max does though, as he lays hand on my shoulder.

"It's what Cinna said," he says when I look at him.

I assume it's something to do with him 'protecting' me or something like that, so I just go with it and give the crowd a small smile, like Cinna told me to. I see myself on the screen, and I still look scared. I think back to what Katniss said this morning. That I can turn my fear into something so powerful that it could beat even the Careers. So I focus on making myself look good for the crowds, and soon enough, the chariots stop, and we listen to the new president talking. She looks like she's about twenty-five, and has pale blonde, almost white hair, and is wearing a white dress with a crimson rose on it. I don't listen to what she's saying, just look up at Max, who gives my shoulder a gentle squeeze. When we start moving again, I'm jolted, since I'm not expecting it, but Max quickly moves his hand from my shoulder to the small of my back to stop me falling. I grab his arm and steady myself, but he doesn't remove his hand. I don't mind though, because it makes me feel safe. When we arrive in the Training Centre, the doors shut behind us and Cinna turns off our suits. Max steps off the chariot first, and lifts me down gently. Once I'm on the ground, I look at all the Tributes around us, and I can easily see the girl that Katniss was talking about on the train. She's watching me closely, and it's really unnerving, but I'm distracted by Katniss tapping my shoulder.

"Yes, that's her. Watch her in training, and I'm going to give you a tape to watch after dinner. I'm really worried about you, and I don't think she's just going to leave you alone. Just don't get on her bad side."

"Please, help me get through this," I plead. "I can't do this on my own."

"I will help you. Stay down here for as long as you need to. Cinna will be here talking to the other stylists, just get him when you're ready to come up."

"Sure," I say quietly.

She leaves then, and I watch as she, Peeta, Max and Effie all go to the elevator and up to our floor. I go to our chariot horses then and pat them, feeding them sugar cubes and looking into their huge brown eyes. I'm startled when I hear a noise behind me and I turn around quickly and bump into the girl from 2 that Katniss warned me about.

Clove.


End file.
